A WORD OF ADVICE ON ''WRITING''

 

One day, I believe we will be able to send full rich thoughts to each other directly using technology.

                                                                     - Mark Zuckerberg

One thing I can certainly say is to share our thoughts, the existing technology itself is more than enough and what you need is  time to devote for it.

 

Writing on daily basis will strengthen your expression and it  has  a therapeutic effect.   When you write on consistent basis,  your soft skills  would also improve  with time.  But the problem with the majority of folks is that we stop writing after leaving colleges.  Most of the Multi-national companies when they make campus selections, they are wary of these abilities in fresher’s who come for employment.  Because, they know that there is no institutional mechanism to  inculcate  their writing abilities beyond + 2 education  when the teaching of language subjects ends.

 

So daily reading of newspapers, magazines is a must so as to excel in written word.  Apart from that, everyone must inculcate reading habits by choosing a book  to read so that it would motivate them in their personal life.   The point is that the mind should not be kept blank after work hours.  

Think creatively and harness your potential. When one  strives to enrich  his/her written expression,  it will give immense positive psychological benefits.   

SILENCE AS A YOGA

 When you utter the word yoga, people generally interpret it with religious connotations.   In fact  yoga means ''to unite''.   What to unite is a serious question we must pose to ourselves.

If you closely observe yourself, there are different layers of ego.  You feel different from your body and mind.   The real Self always wants to excel in every activity but the inspiration to pace up body and mind  to that level is always a daunting task.

It is almost a daily struggle  both to  layman and knowledgeable man. One must cultivate to find union within his/her Self on daily basis

 

A glib talker can't find balance in his/her daily activities.   He/ she is always a nuisance to others.  They distract attention of others in work premises.  It is more a sort of compulsive behavior over a period of time  without an inward look of what's problem.

There is a saying to interpret this phenomena :  The heart of fool is in his mouth and the mouth of wise man is in his heart.   It means one should not talk whatever he/she wants.  The talking stuff should filter through the eye of discrimination.   One sure way to achieve balance is Daily vow of  silence.  

 

In fact, observing silence is not a new concept.  Your system desperately needs on daily basis to come out from trifle thoughts/impulses.   If you read the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi - My Experiments with Truth - you could find how Gandhi strictly adhered to this practice of silence.  He says that     Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. 

 This attribute of  silence is one of the 13 Virtues of  Benjamin Franklin, one the Founding Fathers of United States.  While elaborating this virtue in his autobiography, Benjamin states that :Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself.  Avoid trifling conversation.  

 I think there is no greater yoga than silence.  Just close your eyes and sit still for certain amount of time daily and it empowers you and take you o new levels of awareness.

MY MORNING POWER QUOTES

 

If you can think that infinite power, infinite knowledge and indomitable energy lie within you, and if you can  bring out that power, you also can become like me.

                        - Swami Vivekananda

When I wake up in the morning,  my first task is to flip through my table-top quote calendar to get a daily dose of inspiration.  This bangs my day productive.

One blessing I enjoyed in my formative years was, my parents never  pressed me to study for exams and giving this liberty helped me to handle my affairs confidently.  

In fact, it was not the trend in those times to plan the children for dream careers as we do now a days. My father was busy in his office trade union activities and mother being housewife had limited interference in  my activities which didn't mean that I was a rudderless ship.   I used to observe the world around me and  tried to harness my potential. It helped to blossom  my ''Free Will''.   

We generally tend to believe that outside agency is more influential  than the inner instinct.  This is squarely wrong.  You have an amazing technology within you which could convert the bread into blood, says noted Indian spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

If you observe your body processes, you  find that almost all critical life processes are on auto-pilot mode and your subconscious mind is the presiding deity of all such systems and sub-systems.  But your conscious mind is left with a highly combustible material called 'Free Will'   This 'Free Will'' do wonders if it is rightly harnessed for personal growth. One  should not be too sensuous and   need to take decisions on moment to moment  basis cautiously to enrich in life.

There is a great saying : Wisdom is knowing what to do next; skill is knowing how to do it; and virtue to doing it. 

When you wake up in the morning the day should start with a bang.  The best way to do is choose your set of  ''Power Quotes''  so that  the power of those words  starts flowing into your system.  By cultivating it daily, it almost becomes your muscle memory and  strengthens your habit muscle.  My morning's fiery quote since 2004 is  this :

 

Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; 

powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing;

 forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action.

                                                               - Orison Swett Marden

No doubt that inspiring personalities radically influence your actions.  But the secret lies  in realizing your self-worth.  If you start taking everything as a learning experience, you would be on the growth path.  Ralph Waldo Emerson says that every man I meet is my superior in some way and in that I learn of him.

Knowledge is not pumping information into your head as  show-off before others.  It is to remain   wise   every moment and contemplative in actions.  This happens when you have confidence on you. 

MY READING AND WRITING JOURNEY

 

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.  
 

                           - Benjamin Franklin

 

If you ask me what's my first piece of writing, I would say without hesitation that it is on 'Swami Vivekananda' way back in 1989 when I was  studying second year of graduation.

 

Vivekananda's fiery words  put me on my path.      I used to read a lot since then and I find writing as an 'outlet' to express my creative energies.  

 

In spite of so many ups and downs in my life, reading and writing remained my all time passion.  The idea to have less friends is to work more on harnessing my own potential.  Since, I learnt the stenography which involves hard labour, I find no burden on my mind to spend extra hours for educating myself.

 

I started my personal library way back in 1990 with handful of books of Vivekananda's literature. A cardboard box was turned  into book shelf  and books were kept in orderly fashion.

I was groomed in a serene atmosphere where I was gifted with a plenty of solitude. I  used to  spend more time in public libraries and nurtured my reading hobby.

The habit of jotting down the date of purchase of a book came from my father whose book Bhagavad Gita purchased in 1960s was in my possession now.  In fact that book was my first training ground to improve my vocabulary.   Some times, I read aloud the stanzas to feel as if I am a news reader.  

 

Now when I look back all those books,  fond-memories of those times with vivid details bath my soul.  

 

Whenever, I feel  low, divine intervention comes through a  fiery book which kindles my imagination and sustain my writing saga.  

 

My philosophy is, have a childlike curiosity to widen the knowledge-base.   The humanities and sciences must be devoured in a healthy dose according to your appetite.  I read commerce in my graduation, but science is my charm.  My personal library is dominated by books on neuroscience/psychology, philosophy/ self-help etc.

 

I continue to draw my inspiration by  reading and re-reading  those  books  and pass on that wisdom to  my posterity for their benefit !